


Red red red, why am I not dead?

by rapono



Category: Carrion (Phobia Game Studio Video Game), Original Work
Genre: Alternate Canon, Based on RP, Canon Typical Violence, Gen, Graphic descriptions of gore, Intelligent Monsters, Mercy - Freeform, Multiple Monsters, accidental human experimentation, headcanon heavy, unofficial lore, unreleased game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25293919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapono/pseuds/rapono
Summary: The alarm had sounded. There were monsters hiding in vents and rampaging through the halls. It was only a matter of time before one of them entered the room he was working in, tearing apart his coworkers right before his very eyes, turning them into streaks of blood and assorted viscera that splattered and stained his clothes as he cowered in a corner.But somehow, Dr Merkel was still alive.
Comments: 64
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is an unreleased game with a demo that contains next to no lore, but me and a friend started discussing ideas and ended up creating our own lore. So in other words, most of this story will be technically non-canon and in a way, an AU. 
> 
> We started roleplaying it back in February, so even though the release is now less than a month away, this fic will reflect our ideas and concepts starting from that time. Just took me awhile to break out of my writer block.
> 
> We're probably going to be very wrong when it does come out, but I hope you enjoy our take anyways! 
> 
> EDIT (01/27/2021): Changed and added some sentences, in a effort to remove information that Jackson isn't supposed to know yet.
> 
> [Beta read by [WillowFoxTheFox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowFoxTheFox)]

Doctor Jackson Merkel was your ordinary scientist, one who had a degree in biology and biochemistry. He had found himself in a big company with high paying position among one of many teams of scientists.

Well, he _had_ been in a science team, until he made a little fuck up. Thankfully, he hadn’t lost his job altogether, but he had lost his position, along with an unpleasant pay cut. At least he still worked at the company, with the possibility that he could re-earn his position if he proved himself to be competent again. But for now, he was stuck with one of the boring desk jobs.

Jackson had been sorting through some of the usual paperwork, just barely catching sound of a coworker’s casual conversation, when the lights started to flash red and alarms went off. “CONTAINMENT BREACH” scrolled across the announcement board.

Oh. Oh shit.

One of the specimens must've gotten out.

Jackson gulped and tried to push down the urge to panic. The whole room felt on edge, conversations went silent and papers were dropped, the only sound being the blaring alarm.

“Don’t panic!” The sector’s manager called out, turning the blaring alarms to silent. “It's in a sector on the opposite side of the facility, we're currently safe. The situation will likely be contained before the breach even gets halfway close to us. Remain calm.”

There was a collective sigh of relief, a murmur of confusion and mild unrest as people got back to work, the lights still flashing red.

Jackson left out his own sigh of relief, but it was shaky, a strong sense of unease churning in his stomach, a part of him not believing that everything was going to be okay. But there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing that wouldn’t possibly send his co-workers into a panic.

So instead, Jackson went back to work, trying to find where he had last reviewed the document, doing his best to ignore the looming threat. The worms in his gut however, refused to calm down, making it a challenge to stay focused.

And thus, the room went back to normal, but now with more whispers, a sense of unease falling over the sector, many now on edge. Regardless, work still had to be done.

The room went dead silent, as several loud crashes could be heard nearby.

“Everyone stay calm,” a guard called out, “it's probably nothi-"

The guard was cut off as a bloody tentacle wrapped around his torso, the man screaming as he was violently pulled back to where the appendage he come from.

The sector turned into a chorus of screams. Jackson was one of them.

The room because a sea of mass panic as the monster dragged itself inside, a shredded guard's boot falling from its mass. 

Jackson had known some of the specimens were horrific abominations of teeth, tentacles and flesh. He’d worked on some of them, on their biochemistry, before he had made his fucky wucky. But he'd never seen them, not fully, not more than just a sample or a photograph. 

And now he was seeing one of the facility's creations, for the first time, fully in the flesh. Out of its containment, unleashed, no barrier between him and this unholy bioweapon, gave it a whole new sense of presence. Those pictures gave no real sense of the threat before him now.

And in that moment, Dr Jackson Merkel knew no one would make it out of this room alive, himself included.

But regardless of the sudden gut punch of hopeless inevitability, his instinct of self preservation still kicked in, and seeing as fight was not an option, Jackson went for flight, as the sounds of unnatural roars and gunfire went off behind him.

He clambered down the nearest ladder, and ran towards one of the exits, joining the mad rush of his coworkers, trying his best not to get trampled. Everyone seemed to have the same idea, some unfortunate souls getting trampled by the stampede of people, before everyone abruptly stopped.

The exit was closed, locked in an attempt to keep the monster out. Except it was already inside, and now this protection was trapping them inside with it.

The screaming and gunfire behind the small crowd soon stopped, with a few splatters of blood and gore raining down after the silence. A guard's half eaten corpse dropped not far from them.

So they stood there, in fear driven silence, many praying the monster would leave them. Jackson knew it was a foolish belief, an insane one, but that hope was the only thing keeping him from curling into a crying ball on the hard, bloodstained metal floor.

And then, the monster plopped down infront of them.

The specimen was a horrifying mass of bloody, crimson tentacles, teeth and eyes, swinging and dragging itself around like an edritch spiderman with its many appendages. Its mass of eyes seemed to be focused on them, on him, as it began to approach the group of cowering humans.

The moment it moved itself towards them, Jackson braced himself for the ripping and tearing of his body, but nothing came. Opening his eyes back up, he noticed the monster was much slower in its approach, more cautious, akin to a curious cat.

He didn’t understand. Weren't these bioweapons supposed rip and tear and devour and kill, not approach its prey like a curious child?

So he stood there, frozen in fearful and wonderous awe, as the gore coated and coloured abomination stared back at him.

Too late, trapped in the trance, did he see Johnston pick up the gun the dead guard had been clutching.

“Johnston no wai-"

“Eat lead motherfucker!”

The strange peacefulness that had settling upon the gore ridden scene was immediately broken as his co-worker squeezed the trigger, the monster roaring and recoiling, the sound deafening. One of its tentacles wrapped around Johnston’s torso, yanking him towards the rows and rows and rows of teeth, as the room once again devolved into chaos and death.

Jackson could hear bones being crunched as he finally gave in, collapsing to the floor and curling into a tight ball, squeezing his eyes shut, as he began to cry. This was it, he was going to die, get eaten by the unholy spawn of the kraken. There was no escape, this was the end.

He felt wet, disgusting, metallic smelling substances splatter over his sniveling body, as he tried his best not to think about what was covering him. But he couldn’t drown out the sounds. The crying, the screaming, the begging, and the sounds of human bodies being forced beyond their mortal limit. He felt himself gag, choking back the bile if only to not attract the creature’s attention to himself.

And then, the screaming stopped. It took him a moment to realize that the sound of crying was coming from him, and everyone else seemed to be deathly silent. Cautiously, he unfurled himself just a little bit, cracking his eyes open to see what horrors he’d missed.

Johnston’s decapitated head was laying right next to him, some of the skin torn off his face, an eye hanging out of its socket. Jackson vomited.

When he looked up, wiping off the bile dripping down his chin, he saw its many many eyes, staring down at him. He stared back, transfixed by its eldrich gaze, frozen on the spot once more.

It made a low rumbling sound. Not quite a growl, but more akin to a purr, a sound of something curious or relaxed rather than a sound of aggression. He wasn't quite sure what it meant, at least, not for him, but he hoped it didn’t mean he was about to become its new chew toy.

His body was shaking.

It was the first to break their dance of stillness, cautiously approaching him like it had done before, before Johnston had picked up the gun and he'd heard it crunch on his bones like-

His despairing train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the sound of something moving in the vents above him. He shifted his focus for a moment, tearing his gaze away from the atrocity approaching him to squint at the vent. He couldn’t quite see anything, apart from a small shift of movement, the holes in the grate too thin and small to make out what was hiding behind it.

He turned his attention back to the probelm before him, to see it slowly extending its tentacles towards him, getting close, closer, much too close. It was going to grab him, it was going to grab him and drag him into its mouth like a lot into a wood chipper. Jackson could feel his heart pounding away at his chest, his whole body shaking and shuddering from the adrenaline high.

He was going to die.

The vent grate suddenly dropped next to him, with a loudmetallic think, startling him and causing him to squeak. Curious who his possible savior was, Jackson looked up.

He was met with more tentacles and more eyes.

Another monster.

Jackson felt lightheaded, his legs starting to wobble, as tentacles descended down from the vents, the gross fleshy appendages wrapping themselves around his body, as Jackson grew more and more faint. He heard the other one, the one in the room, protest, this time making a noise that was definitely a growl, and for a brief moment, he saw it “run" towards him, its own arms outstretched, the intent of tearing him away from the one in the vent quite clear.

But it was too late, it didn’t matter which one took him, he was dead either way. He was going to die. Dots swam in his vision as the likely reality punched him in the gut, his head spinning. 

Overloaded with the stress and fear, Dr Jackson Merkel passed out, the last thing he felt being his body yanked up into the vents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I want first fanfic in the fandom rights? Yes, yes I did. Did someone beat me with their... _"interesting"_ fanfic because I took too long to write it. Yes, sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Merkel wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh I've been overwhelmed by the reception this received. Thank you for all your lovely comments, I feel honored.
> 
> I got the game as soon as it was released! Took me awhile to finish it because I've been busy with work and keep getting distracted by SCP Secret Lab, but I did it! That last ability you unlock took me by surprise, and I'm not sure what to do with it, at least for this fic.
> 
> Also apologies, I update slow/inconsistently, ADHD is a bitch.
> 
> [Beta read by [WillowFoxTheFox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowFoxTheFox)]

The first thing Jackson felt when he came to was wet. He felt wet, damp, and as he slowly grew more aware, he realized he felt sticky too. As if whatever had soaked into his clothes wasn't water. 

He felt sore too, as if he had just been dragged around and roughly manhandled. His limbs ached.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was red. Unending red. At first he thought maybe he’d gotten something on his glasses, until he realized the red mass was moving, and was filled with glowing eyes.

Dr Merkel screamed.

The mass around him shuddered and recoiled slightly in response, the eyes all focusing on him. Now it knew he was awake.

He tried to struggle and run away, and it was then that he realized the monster was holding him, his body restrained by many fleshy appendages wrapped around him, holding him securely. 

He heard a screech beneath him, and saw a second one, the same one that had broken into his workspace and devoured Johnston. It was also looking at him, and reached out its own tendrils towards him.

The specimen holding him started to lower him into the other's hold.

“No no no no wait!” Jackson tried to resist and move away, but his feeble little human body could do nothing against the eldritch entitys holding him. It was going to eat him, tear him apart just like it did Johnston. Jackson braced himself for the teeth and the ripping and the tearing.

It never came. The other's appendages wrapped around his body with care, as if it was afraid of breaking him, and gently pulled him closer to the core of its mass.

The other specimen, once it no longer held him, made a small motion, before vanishing into the vents. He shuddered as he swore he heard a distant scream soon afterwards, before it was silent.

It was just him, and the monster. 

Jackson gave an effort to struggle once more, but he was still so weak and helpless against the numerous writhing and wet tentacles that held him in place. So he gave up his efforts to get away, his chest heaving with the urge to cry, tears building up in his eyes.

Whatever sadistic way the creature wanted to maim or play with him, he could do nothing to protest. He was completely at its mercy. 

He let out a choked sob.

And then, Jackson felt himself being rocked, slowly, like a mother with her child. He sniffled, the hopelessness that had previously gripped him now getting drowned out by confusion.

Was, was the specimen attempting to comfort him?

He didn’t have long to linger on that thought however, as the creature was soon on the move, but not before it secured its hold on him. Jackson grimaced and squirmed as the bloody appendages squeezed him tighter. 

It moved through the rooms and halls akin to Spiderman, but without any grace and leaving destruction in its wake. Okay, maybe less like Spiderman and more like a tornado, but it was pulling itself along the ceiling for the most part, so one could see where he was coming from with that terrible analogy. At least it seemed to be careful to keep him intact, unlike their surroundings.

He grimly wondered how long it was going to keep him in one piece.

It was hard to keep track of where it was going, head swimming, vision blurry with tears, and his glasses smudged with blood that didn’t belong to him. His ribs ached slightly from the death grip it held him in, and for a moment he imagined what it would feel like for it to squeeze a little harder, squeeze until his ribcage collapsed under the pressure, puncturing his lungs and filling them with blood, leaving him choking on his own blood until he could breathe no more.

He felt sick from the thought. He regretted considering it, and squirmed in an effort to give himself a little more breathing room. It did not let up, but it didn’t squeeze any tighter either. The mild relief was completely drowned out by the crushing feeling of helplessness.

Many things were simply a blur it rushed past, but a few things he could pick out as he watched the world fly by him. A broken doorframe, a cracked computer screen, a turned over desk, a half eaten human corpse.

Then in the distance, he was able to pick out a handful of human silhouettes. They were moving, alive, and as Jackson squinted at them through his blood-coated glasses, realized they were also holding guns.

Guards. They were guards. They could help him, save him, kill the monster. And so, with a sudden surge of hope in his chest, Jackson cried out as loudly as he could. 

“Help me!!”

The guards seem to turn to look in his direction, before the specimen darted out of their line of sight, Jackson with it.

_No! It was taking him away!_

Before he could try to yell some more, an appendage covered his mouth, Jackson almost gagging as some of the slimy substance coating the creature got into his mouth. His mouth now tasted of iron.

Once it seemed appeased that he was silent, the specimen gently placed him down on some nearby rubble, patting him on the head after it did so. He recoiled from the slimy touch, a small noise of discomfort escaping his throat. The monster didn’t seem to notice.

It turned towards the guards, and with once last glance towards him, launched itself towards them with an unholy and bone-chilling screech that left Jackson with a tingling feeling in his spine.

He didn’t have to look to know what was happening. The gunfire, the screeching, the sounds of metal breaking and the screaming. Jackson found himself frozen in place, shaking, bile rising up in his throat as he imagined the carnage that surely lay just out of sight.

He could run for it. He could run right now, far far away. This was his chance to escape.

But his body wouldn't move. He felt frozen, unable to block out the last dying cries of the guards, and unable to put his legs onto action. So instead of running, he found himself quietly crying, and dry heaving at what was almost certainly the sound of bones and metal breaking.

The monster returned to him when the screams finally stopped.

He couldn’t help but whimper as it plucked him from the ground and held him close to itself again. He squirmed against its grip once more, but his efforts were as fruitless as they were the first time, perhaps even weaker. The stress and exhaustion was wearing him out.

And then, they were at the barracks. It took him by surprise, Jackson having lost track of where he was long ago, especially with the specimen’s rapid and chaotic means of transportation. But now that he knew where he was, that left him with one other question: why had the creature taken him here?

It paused for a moment before it entered, moving with more caution and care, and a lot slower than it had been previously, as if for some reason, it didn’t want to tear _this_ section of the facility apart.

It moved objects around, shoving some debris and clutter out of the way, before gently placing him down on one of the many beds.

Jackson was dumbfounded, but still nonetheless terrified. Why, why had it taken him to the barracks, why had it placed him on a bed? 

As soon as he was free from its grasp, he scooted away from it as far as he could while remaining on the bed, staring back as it watched him, waiting.

It remained there, quiet, watching him back, before it began to extend a tentacle towards his face. Out of instinct and disgust, Jackson quickly slapped it away, before realizing his mistake. 

The specimen growled at him, and the color quickly drained from his face, as he body quickly became overwhelmed and frozen in fear. This was it, he’d fucked up, and now he was gonna die. His heart pounded in his ears and chest, as he waited for the inevitable tearing and teeth.

But nothing happened. It simply went back to watching him, seemingly almost relaxing, waiting. Jackson couldn't, he couldn’t relax, body pumped up with adrenaline and brain still working in overdrive in anticipating how it was going to make work of his body like a hungry piranha.

He watched as a vent cover above the specimen broke and fell off, before another cluster of bloody appendages dangled out of it.

The other monster was back.

And then, for no apparent reason, it seemed to back off. Well, it had made a strange noise just before that, akin to what he had heard when he saw the other specimen, the one that had yanked him into the vent. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but all he knew is that he felt immense relief once it slipped out of the room and out of sight. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

Holy shit, he was still alive. His body still shook with residual adrenaline, but he was alive, all limbs intact, only a few scratches a bruises. 

He let out a choked sob. Why, why him? Why was he the only human it hadn't hungrily devoured yet?

Why was he still alive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended up cutting a small scene that was in the rp cuz it wasn't significant to the plot and was me causing a few difficulties.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monsters return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I was missing a large chunk of my archive of the rp, which ended up being all the upcoming scenes. After alot of hassle I finally found and got them, and was finally able to get working on this again. 
> 
> This chapter ended up being waaaaaay bigger than I thought it would be. I kinda just kept writing and expanding on what had formerly been much briefer scenes in the rp, until I finally reached the end of it. 
> 
> In other news, I've received multiple fanworks from you guys, and I'm absolutely blown away and humbled. I never thought this or any of my fics would get attention like this. Please check out this [[fan-fanfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25667434)] and [[fanart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27666845)] I received and give them your love. I absolutely adore them.
> 
> Shout out to my wonderful rp partner [WillowFoxTheFox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowFoxTheFox), who is currently hard at work, focusing on his studies. 
> 
> [This chapter was not beta read.]

A strange, unsettling silence hung over the ransacked room, with only the occasional creak of cracking plaster and distant ambience breaking it. Dr Merkel felt almost paralyzed, his mind still attempting to process everything that had happened so far, his clothes still coated the unusually thick blood. 

Was it even blood? It seemed almost like a mucus membrane for the creatures. Yet it definitely smelled like blood, and likely tasted of it too, though he wasn't keen on testing that hypothesis out, even for the sake of science. Perhaps it was a by-product of eating humans?

Jackson shook his head. He could theorize about their biology later, right now he just needed to keep himself alive. 

The monsters seemed to have left him to his lonesome in the meantime, meaning he had the chance to possibly slip away. So breaking from his paralysis, Jackson slowly got to his feet, taking a few shaky steps towards the exit.

His footsteps were wobbly, breaths uneven, but he moved onward, haphazardly crawling over some rubble. The adrenaline was wearing off, and his body was still sore from being the beast’s plaything. Regardless, he pushed onward, determined to not just give up and die, not when he'd been given a second chance at life.

He carefully stepped over the eviscerated body of a soldier, doing his best to not look at the corpse while avoiding contact with it. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to see what it could possibly do to him, even if he was wearing all those layers of military grade armour.

It wasn’t long before he finally stumbled upon the exit. The creature hadn't taken him too far in, and thankfully it had left a trail of blood and other viscera for him to follow. He stumbled towards it, leaning against the doorframe, and let out a sigh of relief.

He was out. He’d escaped the monsters. Now all he had to do was make it to one of the shelt-

The sudden sound of nearby destruction immediately caught his attention, and Dr Merkel looked in its direction, only to see one of the monstrosities barreling towards him.

“No!”

He stumbled backwards, arms out in a futile attempt to shield himself. His foot caught on a stray piece of rubble, and he fell backwards with a cry, the ground unforgiving in its lack of cushioning. The impact jolted his bones, leaving him sore, but he had no time to wince and whine. Scrambling backwards as fast as his beaten body could take him, the mass of flesh and eyes and teeth continued its path towards him.

And then, it slowed its pace, coming to a halt before it crashed into entrance to the barracks. Jackson didn’t know why, what it was planning to do with him this time, but he took this small respite to scramble onto his feet, and made a run for the back entrance.

He should’ve known escape wouldn’t have been so easy.

In the corner of his eye, he saw tentacles reach out from somewhere above, coming in his direction. Jackson reeled back, attempting to dodge what he assumed would be a grab for him, but it wasn't. Instead, a large heavy box was tossed into his path, completely cutting off his exit.

Jackson froze, stopping in his tracks, as he stared at the obstacle with a terror filled expression.

He was trapped. He was trapped with the man-eating monstrosity once more.

With nowhere left to go, Jackson pulled his gaze away from the barrier, and turned to look back at his inhuman captor. He looked into the many eyes spotting the creature’s mass, waiting, anticipating, dreading, as it watched him back.

Eventually, the monster moved, and Jackson braced himself for the end. But there was no touch, no pain. Anxious, he opened his eyes and took a look, only to be left feeling utterly confused.

The monster had placed a can of spam in front of him.

“….what?”

The monster made no reaction.

“Is… is this this for me? Are you trying to feed me? Wait, can you even understand me?”

The monster moved, Jackson flinching slightly out of fear, before a pile of canned food and drinks tumbled out of an unseen crevice of the monster's mass.

Oh. He uh, he did not expect that. Had that been a yes to his question?

While it was no buffet or five star meal, the sight of food made Dr Merkel’s stomach rumble. How long had he been unconscious for? How long since he'd eaten? Last meal he remembered having was breakfast, as the breach had occurred some time just before lunchbreak.

Cautiously, he creeped forward, and slowly approached the pile of goods, like a rat trying to get the cheese from a trap. And just like one, he scrambled back the moment he grabbed his prize, watching it for a reaction.

But it had none. It simply watched him back, laid among the wreckage, and waited. Jackson couldn’t help but shiver under its gaze.

Unnerved but not currently terrified, he turned his eyes down to the can he had grabbed. Baked beans. Not a favorite of his, but he didn’t hate it. It would likely taste better than the cans of spam he'd seen strewn about the pile. 

He let out a shaky breath, and cracked the can open. Yep, baked beans. Cautious, he poured a small amount into his mouth. Yep, tasted just how he remembered them. He glanced back up at the monster, which still watched him patiently, and attempted to show it that he'd eaten some of what it had brought him.

The monster seemed to wiggle a little bit, the action seemingly giving off the vibe that it was happy. Jackson stared at it, confused. 

Was the creature happy? Why did eating making it happy? Why was it feeding him?

His train of thought was immediately cut off by the sudden jolt of ravenous hunger. Oh shit, he really hadn’t eaten in a long time. 

The need to know its intentions no longer mattered to him at the moment, as instead Jackson began to greedily devour the contents of the can. Fuck, baked beans had never tasted this good before.

As he ate, Dr Merkel noticed strange rumbling, gurgling, growly noises coming from the creature, watching it worriedly. He swore he heard a similar sound from the vent above, and worried that he’d somehow pissed it off. But nothing came of it, and the beast continued to watch him eat, still wiggling. 

Communicating perhaps? Was that how those things spoke? He swore he'd heard them make it before. If so, perhaps it was trying to communicate with him.

It wasn’t long before he finished the can off, doing his best to knock the rest of the beans off the bottom and into his mouth, before gently placing the empty can beside him. He was still a little hungry, but now the edge was gone, and now, he was curious.

If it had thought to bring him food, then how intelligent could these creatures be? There was only one way to find out.

Clearing his throat, he mustered up what courage he had, a spoke to the beast.

“Hello?”

The monster stopped wiggling, but didn’t move away or towards him, simply just giving him its full attention. Was it listening?

“There’s more of you, right?” He glanced around, trying to catch a glimpse of the other one he’d seen earlier.

He heard more of the rumbling sounds, and then right on queue, the vent cover above him popped off, red tentacles dangling out of it.

Oh. Oh shit. He didn’t think he get an answer, let alone have the other appear, especially so close.

“H-has that one been here the whole time?” His voice cracked slightly from the surprise.

The creature in front of him made another noise, and paused, before it started squish and stretch its body up and down. Jackson watched it, confused, trying to figure out what this motion could possibly mean.

It stopped, and watched him back.

As he tried to mimic the motion with his hand, an idea clicked in his head. It seemed crazy, preposterous, but what if he was right?

“Wait, were you trying to nod? Was that nodding?”

And to Dr Merkel's utter disbelief, it did the motion again. It was saying yes. It could understand him.

“Holy sh- you are surprising intelligent creatures, uh, no offense!”

It seemed confused by that statement, and he wasn’t sure if he should feel comforted by that. Regardless, he was still reeling from the realization, denial quickly starting to settle in.

“Fuck I really have gone crazy, I’m trying to communicate with… what ever these are. Man-eating abominations?” He let out a broken laugh.

Above him, the monster in the vent crawled out of its hiding spot, and Jackson instinctively winced away from it. He braced himself, waiting for it to grab and drag him into the vent again to someplace else, but to his surprise, it didn’t even touch him. Instead, the second creature simply slithered its way down and into a corner, where it promptly sat and joined the other abomination in watching him.

_Great._

Dr Merkel sighed, and turned his attention back to the one seated directly in front of his only remaining exit.

“Is that your friend?”

It seemed to hesitate for a moment, before it wiggled up and down once again, like a paddle ball made of meat and slime. He almost laughed at the metaphor, but a choked sob came out of him instead.

Why him? Why did these things insist on toying with him, instead of tearing him limb from limb and devouring him like am this other co-workers? And why were they feeding him, seemingly taking care of him? What made him so special? Why him?

He still felt no closer to the answer than he'd asked it last time, now with even more questions than before.

“What do you want from me?”

He'd said it quietly, more to himself than the monsters, not expecting any type of answer. Regardless, he got a reaction.

The one who had brought the food pile was now approaching him, slowly. He scrambled back instinctively, before shifting to match its pace, doing his best to not let it gain any ground on him.

It stopped soon after, a little abruptly, and went back to watching him. He himself mirrored the pause, watching back, waiting, seeing what it would do.

Then it started moving again, towards him, at the same slow pace. Adamant to not let it get any closer, he did the same as before, slowly backing away. It stopped again. He did too.

Interesting. He wasn’t quite sure what it was attempting to do, especially since he knew it could definitely outpace and grab him if it really wanted to. But it didn’t. Instead it seemed determined to slowly approach him, in an seemingly cautious fashion, like how one would approach a frightened animal.

Wait, was that what it was trying to do? Approach him without him running away? It made almost too much sense, and yet seemed so out to place, almost too human.

Why didn’t it just snatch him up again?

It shifted forward again, just as cautiously as before, but this time Jackson let it gain some ground. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and it was getting closer.

Besides, he knew he was only delaying the inevitable, and he started to worry if he was testing its patience. 

Gathering up what little courage he had, Dr Merkel stood in place, allowing the amalgamation of flesh to approach him. And it did so, still keeping its slow pace, before stopping right before him. 

It was so close. Sure, he'd been grabbed and pressed against the fleshy mass before, but that didn’t mean that standing just inches from it, towering over him, didn’t strike a terror into every fibre of his being. He didn't think he could move anymore, not even if he wanted too, his mind and body seized by the lesser known third option of the fight or flight response. 

Dr Merkel could do nothing but wait for the monstrosity before him to make the first move. 

The thing watched him, watched as he trembled under its gaze, before it slowly extended one of its many tentacles towards him. His eyes snapped to it, as the appendage came towards his face.

And then it touched him, the warm slimy tendril gently caressing his face, leaving behind the vicious red fluid where it touched. Instinctively, he recoiled at the sensation, breaking out of his frozen trance.

Did it try to pet him? His mind was racing, trying to hypothesize the creature’s intent and reasoning. 

“Are you trying to show affection?”

Jackson did his best to try to wipe the ooze it had left on his face with his sleeve, forgetting that his clothes were already covered with the stuff. Thus the action only succeeded in spreading it on his face, making more of a mess than cleaning it. 

He let out a defeated sigh. He was never going to be clean again.

The creature finally responded with more tentacles, gently brushing against and petting him all over, like an eager child with a puppy, gentle but excited. His breath hitched, the doctor nearly on the verge of a panic attack thanks to the sudden onslaught, just barely keeping himself from breaking down. And just barely he did, the lack of pain and odd gentleness of the assault keeping him just calm enough to not crack. So he kept his mind on more mundane things, like how his clothes were definitely going to be stained after this oreal, to keep his mind off the rising panic.

It was still somewhat uncomfortable however. He did his best to try to push away the ones that came for him face, as he was coated with more and more of the blood-like slime.

Yep, cleanliness was now a distant, distant dream.

And then, like the icing on the cake, it started to rumble, the sound gently vibrating his body. At first he wasn't sure what it meant, worried that the sound would turn to a growl, but the creature seemed to look content.

Wait, was it purring? He gave the abomination a tight lipped smile as the thought set it. 

It wasn't long after that the petting stopped, just for a moment, before the tentacles wrapped around him like a boa constrictor, and gently squeezed. The panic quickly returned full force, as he tensed up, waiting for the grip to tighten and crush him. But it didn't. It simply kept him in a warm, slimy embrace.

At least it wasn’t _cold_ and slimy. This thing radiated heat like a radiator, which made its touch more bearable than if it had been on the colder side.

His panic slowly subsided as it held him, his breaths slowing down and returning to normal. 

Eventually it let him go, Jackson stumbling a little from the sudden reliance on his own legs to keep him upright. It backed up just a little ways away, reverting back to observing him, but now in a seemingly much happier mood.

Jackson held out his arms, watching the blood drip off his now thoroughly soaked form.

“…thanks.”

He fruitlessly attempted to wipe some of it off, with just as much success as before. He sighed, dropping his arms to the sides. 

Yep, this stuff wasn't gonna come off anytime soon.

The creature made a cooing sound at him, in what sounded like a confused tone. Why, he wasn’t sure. If anything it left the poor demoted scientist more confused himself, mind feeling scrambled from the information and sensations he'd just experienced.

He wandered over to a nearby bed, one that seemed to be the least blood stained, and sat. Letting out a long deep breath, he allowed some of the tension he'd been holding to release. For a moment, he allowed himself to forget about the unholy flesh beasts in the room with him, forget about the looming threat of death, forget about the anxiety squirming around in his chest. Instead, for just a moment, he let himself believe everything was fine, that he was safe, and that he wasn’t covered in a goopy concoction of monster slime and human blood.

His brief moment of peace was quickly interrupted as an appendage suddenly pressed against his chest, gently but firmly pushing him down onto the bed. Confusion and a smidgen of panic hit him as he lets it move him, knowing there was no use in fighting, not when it would eventually have its way. 

Jackson soon found himself laid on his back, lying on the bed, before it removed the its appendage from his chest. Laying as still as he could in anxious anticipation, he watched as it grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed, and pulled it over him.

Oh, it was trying to put him to sleep.

Doing his best to repress the renewed and rising anxiety, Dr Merkel played along, pretending to fall asleep. The thing rumbled, similar to how it sounded earlier, before he heard it shift away.

It seemed to have fallen for his trick.

Resisting the urge to open his eyes a crack, he instead listened intently, hoping he could figure out what it would do next.

He heard it make sounds again, the other one replying with a similar string of vocals, the pair exchanging sounds before falling silent. 

The silence didn’t stick for long, before there was the crashing and creaking and wet pats from where the “cuddly” one had been, seemingly getting quieter. Above him, he heard the metallic groaning and ratttling of the vent, the sounds also growing more distant as time went on.

Hope surged in his chest, but he did his best to contain it, despite the fact that it very clearly sounded like the two monsters were leaving. He didn’t want to give himself false hope, but he couldn’t help but wish that what he was hearing was true.

So Jackson waited, quietly, for the sounds of movement and destruction to fade away, before he cautiously opened his eyes again. He didn’t see either of them. He glanced at the vent. No eyes shined through the darkness of the slits. Everything was eeriely silent, apart from the sound of his heart and breaths.

The monsters had left him alone, unattended, again.

So like how one would tread upon thin ice, he cautiously got out of bed, carefully pulling the blanket off of him and getting back on his feet. 

No reaction, no sign of the abominations.

He took a few cautious steps forward, back to the exit, to where he had initially tried to leave.

It wasn’t long before he made it back to where he had been standing before, the exit now a little more bloodied and damaged.

Still no sign of the monsters, no crashing of wreckage suddenly drawing nearer.

Almost tiptoing, he took a few steps out of the barracks, out of his prison.

Still nothing.

And with that, he ran. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he wanted to get as far he possibly could from where the monsters would go looking for him.

As his feet hit the pavement in rapid succession, he felt tears start to streak down his face, his breaths choked up by sudden sobs.

He had escaped the monsters. He was free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there was a couple of inconsistencies between this chapter and the previous, I feel like there might've been a few.
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm planning to update this fic roughly every 2 or 3 months, but no promises. I'm terrible at writing consistently.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to bother me at [rapono-writes-things](https://rapono-writes-stuff.tumblr.com) on Tumblr. I post updates about progress and related things on there.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Gift Art] Red red red, why am I not dead?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27666845) by [Rovent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rovent/pseuds/Rovent)




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